November 11, 2013

Close Those Devices and Open Your Ears

While you’re at it... stop the dialogue in your head, put down your pen, put the papers and reports and files somewhere out of sight for a few minutes...and open your ears.

Matter of fact, if you do all that your ears open automatically (albeit slowly at first for some). You listen with your full attention.

When I was CEO of a small company, I noticed I paid far less attention to the person in my office if my laptop remained open or my cellphone on. Issues needed twice as much conversation before we could reach a solution if I left them open. They had a magic pull on my my attention if they were open, blinking, shining, updating, pinging-beeping-ringing. So, with great effort...I would close them. I still don’t understand the magical pull of those devices. All I knew was that they needed to be off if I was to be respectful of those meeting with me.

I also cleared my desk of files and books and papers and contracts. It’s distracting for me and my guest. Plus, it makes my desk at least appear to be neat and ordered. (It was always a work in progress...but work was made and progress achieved.)

Having instilled that habit, I also held the conversation at a little conference table. The staff had selected one, with chairs, color-coordinated together with my office.

However, I did not turn my office phone to DND or Do Not Disturb. Why? Well, all unanswered calls to customer service or sales rang to my desk. I answered them. Everyone understood these took priority over any meeting. I liked handling them as it kept me in touch with customers and prospects. It communicated consistently this simple priority for our brand: answer their calls.

Back to the meeting. Moving our conversation away from my distractions recognized the person and the importance of our conversation making the meetings more productive, reducing misunderstandings and reinforcing everyone’s importance in the company’s success. Some times, most times, multi-tasking is not a time-saver. This is one.

Having instilled this habit, it surprises me when I meet with others who...haven’t escaped the allure of their magical, digital devices. It’s annoying. Sometimes, I’ll ask them to turn it off. Always, they act offended. Sometimes they hide it by saying, oh it’s ok...Actually, no. It’s not. It’s always a sign that...me and my time and my message are not that important. That saves me time even if it’s done in a rude manner.

But that’s not what you want to communicate to your brand evangelists. Granted, that is what managers around the country are communicating when you see that only 30% of employees bring their A game to work. I understand. Why bring your A game if no one notices, no one cares, no one recognizes you for it.

Many of you may say “Well of course.” But that’s the whole point of employee recognition and these simple steps. Well, of course, this is obvious. But what’s obvious is why we forget them, over and over again, to the point our corporate cultures are marked by the lack of recognition and engagement. We all need reminders. This is an easy one to forget and an even easier one to correct.

Books I've Read and Recommend

Jackie Huba: Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanaticsa bigger challenge than I predicted. It’s not what to say that challenged me. It’s what NOT to say. I start reading and within 3-4 paragraphs, I’m nodding my head and saying Yes, yes, exactly. Bam. Bam, baby. Yeah, come on. Can I get a witness. Then I want to share verbatim Jackie’s translation of Gaga’s strategy. Here’s why. It’s a strategy with 7 steps that any, ANY, business can execute under its own terms and under its own budget no matter how small or large. Granted, I enjoy reading this strategy as it’s applied to Gaga. And Jackie's a good writer. But, what's really inspiring is understanding how even a car wash could apply this strategy with these 7 steps and find success. You could build a global empire selling gardening mulch if you followed these 7 steps. And you could lower your advertising and marketing budgets, to boot.

Kevin Allen: The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising StarYes! Finally a leadership book and author who bring empathy, caring and listening to the front of the leadership room instead of insisting it sit in the back, laughed at or ignored with no champion and certainly no budget to help spotlight its role in creating engaged leaders.
He had me as a reader and fan on the first page of his introduction. Here’s what he wrote:
Years later, when I was made Executive Vice President at McCann Erickson Worldwide ... I came to realize that the gift of human empathy, which had guided me through those early days at Marriott, would allow me to steer literally thousands of people to row in the direction of McCann Erickson’s future.
I’ve learned things the hard way, through trial and error, mostly error. Through it all, I came to realize people follow you because of who you are; because you have come to understand the deep desires and hopes of your people; and because, by connecting with them, you have created a culture and a common cause they believe in.

Chuck Blakeman: Why Employees Are Always a Bad IdeaI love this book. It's true that I say this about every book I review here. And why shouldn't I? Why waste time reviewing a book I don't love.
That being said...Why Employees Are Always a Bad Idea: (and other business diseases of the industrial age) is one of my favorite business books for a long time.
It starts with the title. It's eye-catching, provocative, right? Mentally, it's a head-slap, positing a theorem inside your head then pounding it home with AlwayandBad to let you know you're not getting away; you're going to have your mind changed. Right now.
As I kept looking at the title, tilting my head like a dog - one side to the other - I began to smile. I read a kindred spirit. Here's a rebel, a true disruptor, someone who's willing speak up, take a stand; I like that. I might not agree with what I'm about to read, but his title made me smile without being cloying or clever so I knew I was in for a good ride.

Stephen Lynch: Business Execution for RESULTS: A practical guide for leaders of small to mid-sized firmsI'm an avid reader, always have been. I've read a lot of business books and I’ve led a small business. I recommend you read Business Execution for Results: A Practical Guide for Leaders of Small to Mid-Sized Firms. It is a very, very good book, among the best, most usable business books I’ve read.
As a writer, he does things that make the reading very pleasant, very inspiring, very engaging. Very good.
He offers personal stories, anecdotes, little clips. They’re genuine, sincere, well-organized to capture your attention, engage you in the story that illustrates the next lesson. I found myself thinking...I can relate...I am relating....I see, feel, remember this personally. And Stephen’s writing is very crisp, very concise in taking you from these stories to the principle with each chapter...and as important to the steps you’re going to take to generate the results you want to see. No hitch in the reading flow. VERY nice.